Tiff
Massey
She // Her // Hers
[ID: Tiff, a young Black woman, is heavily adorned by the jewelry she created and rocking a du-rag, gold beads, and a floral dress. She holds her glasses as she gazes into the camera.]
Detroit, MI
2021 USA Fellow
This award was generously supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
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Tiff Massey is an interdisciplinary artist from Detroit. Massey holds an MFA in metalsmithing from Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, MI. Her work, inspired by African standards of economic vitality, includes both large-scale and wearable sculptures, music, and performance. She counts the iconic material culture of 1980s hip-hop as a major influence in her jewelry. Massey uses contemporary observances of class and race through the lens of an African Diaspora, combined with inspiration drawn from her experience in Detroit.
Portrait photo by Joe Gall.